Junction, wall, floor, or other box.



V D. UONLAN JUNCTION, WALL,

J B. FLOOR, OR OTHER BOX.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 3, 1907.

Patented oct12,1909.

Vborough of.,- State of UNITEDSTATEs PATENT oEEIoE.

DAVID CONLAN, Jn., 'OE NEWv YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOE To ELIZABETH ooNLnN,or

BnooxLYN, NEW YORK.

JUNCTION," WALL, ELooE, oEoTHEE Box.

'Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented oct-12', v1909'.

Application filed August 8, 1907. Serial No. 386,868.

To all whomr Macy concern: Be it know 1 that I, VDAVID CONLAN, Jr., acitizen of .t e`-U nitedV States, residing in the anhatta'n, 'city,county, and Ork, have invente-d a certain Junction, NVall, Floor, 'or

specificatie The object tion of a devicevvhich may be used in connection with a box, such box being a junction box, a floor box, `r aWall box for a flexible. (-.onnectlonfor forge lamp lixture, orfor"other purposes' which.; vWill' primarily be water tight `under allcircumstances, with the plug 1n placeor removed.

I further vseekgto avoid .the necessity of applying a cover to the `boxwhen the plug is .removed but make thel opening disclosed by the removalofthezplug automaticallyl close to prevent the entrance of water into.

the box and system.

A. further objectisf to produce a box in which the connections With themains or branches can, be yreadily@made, the connectionsV forthe-terminals being made on the cover and'not Within thebox as. hasheretofore been thecase.-

A further object consists in improving the connection of the terminalswith the plug resulting in any easy4 adjustment, reducing the danger ofshort-circuiting, avoidingthe connection of the vWires t0 binding screwsand requiring no solderingof the strands of the Wires at the bindingpost.

Still another object is toproduce a device in which sparking Will beprevented when the plug is Withdrawn from the box.

Further objects will appear in the following specification andaccompanying dra-W- ings taken together or separately.

I attain the objects of my invention by the mechanism illustrated in theaccompany ing drawing, in Which Figure lfvis a longitudinal section of ajunction box embodying my improvement. Fig. 2 is across section on theline 2 1-2 ofV Fig. 1. Figl3 is 4a longitudinal section at right anglesto Fig. 1 of a portion of the junction boxvvi'th the plug removed there-'from ;vand shown in elevation the contact sprl s beingshown yin dott-edlines. Fig. 4t

is 'a "sidezelevation of a portieri of the device.`

t'Svtfhiclijv the Jfollowing is a I 4have in viewiis the produc-l mucheasier an tom of the box. i

sprn Fio. 6 is a detail view of-a modilied orin otbvalve. Fig. 7 vis asectional view of a floor box embodying my invention. Fig. 8 is a detailview of a cap for the floor box. Fig. 9 is a top View of a modiied formof lockfor use with alternating currents or battery charging. Fi s. 10and l1 are detail views showing a modi ed form of plug.

In all the' views like parts are designated vby the same referencecharacters.A

In the drawings, 1v is the box, and '2 the cover.

The plug 3 and the vconnections for the mainsl and branches are allcarried by the cover so that the splicing `together of the mains andbranches can be 'made Within the box With the cover reinoved,gtlieinterior.

ofthe box l'bein entirely unobstructed. A

better connection can be made within the' unobstructed'box'than has.heretofore been possible with boxes -inwhlch the con-tact devices are;carried onfthe bot- The plu 3, which 'is nected tot efb'ranch 4, isadapted to be introduced intoan openingin the cover and locked inposition.- This opening, when the lug is removed, isclosed by a valve 5.The

\1ntroduction of the plug opens the4 valve,

electric connection being then automatically made wlthin thebox. In oneembodiment of my in'ventlon I permanently coni ro-vide the coverf2 Witha hollow, circuar standard 6, the upper extremity being open, forming anaperture of circular cross section which is closed bytthe" valve 5.

The inner faces of the opening in the top ofy the standard are beve edat 7,-against `Which thel beveled faceof the valve will engage,thus'forming" a seatf The' valve is forced against this seatjby"afspring 8. The valve is bestmade of insulating material such as hardrubber,v and `is best made of the shape shown in the. drawing, therebeing fa recess in the bottom, and thelovver edge being beveled, thespring lying Within the recess.- v

t nl Eig. c a modifications Shown in which a rin 9 o f'soft rubber orother suitable materia is provided, forming a gasket, which bearsagainstfthe seat 7.'

The valve lies withina centerrecess in a block 10, the spring 8 bearingagainst the'.

lowerend ofthe recessf The block l() is` shown as provided with lugsthrough Which ipa-ss screws 11 vfor securing the block :to the undersideof the cover 2. A portion of the block llies within the hollow standard6, the

rest-ofthe block depending within the box 1. The sides of the block areprovided with recesses 12 extending entirely through the walls of theblock to the center opening.

'llVithin/these'recesses lie the: contact springs 13. These springs aresecured at their lower ends to the block by bolts 14, and also havebinding screws 15 for connection with the mainsor branches which comeinto the box. The upper ends lofthe springs 13are bent inward so thatthey Vvwill engage with the plug 3 when the latter is introduced intothe box. 'The extreme freeends of the springs are bent, outward, aslshown, so that when the plug is introduced and engages with the springs,the' latter will be separated so as to elastically engage with the plugand make v electrical Contact therewith.

When the Valve is in closed position, the spring contacts 13 will engagewith its beveled lower .edgeythus assistinglin clos- .ing the valve andretaining it in position,

should the`spring 8 break. Should also the 18 are shown as inthe form oftubes of conducting material, and the contact plates 17 are best of theshape shown. They may be 1 separate from orintegral with the bindingposts, but in either case they are electrically connected together.

The body 16 may be made of hard rubber molded around the contact platesand bind` ing posts; The relative positions of the latter are shown inFig.4 5. The tops of the binding posts do not extend quite to the topofthe body 16, an opening 19 communicating with the upper edge of thebody and the top of each binding post. The'openings 19 are eachsufficiently large to admit one of the strands of thebranch 4, completewith its- -insulating covering. The branch 4 extends' in its completestate down to the top of the` body 16 and each separate strand with itsinsulating covering extends from the `top of the body down to the top ofthe binding post 18., or nearly thereto, the insulation lying within theopenings 19. The uncovered wires .extend into the openings in thebinding posts, such openings being of a size to take the uncoveredstrands. These strands are secured in position and forced intoelectricaling present.

contact With the walls of the binding posts by the screws 20. Each ofthese screws 20 passes through an openingin a binding post above thecontact plate 17. -The location of one of such screw holes is shown inFig. 5 at 21. The advantageof this construction is that the coveredwires,` when separated from 19 and extend some distance therein coveredwith insulation. The spark gap is inuch larger than the priorstructures, in which the bare wire extends f up to the undiminishedcable, the intermediate covered wires not be- By incasing the wires in.the binding posts 18. instead of securing them bythe usual screws thefull size of the wires is retained, and the strands do not have tobesoldered together as is usual. As shown in Fig. 2, the binding screws20 for ,the two bindin posts come into the body on opposite si es. Ifmore than two binding osts are used for each plug, the location anarrangement of the screws will be modified ac* cordingly.

In addition to the body 16, the plug com# prises a metallic casing 22.This casing. is shown as connected to the body 16 by screw threads, butsuch particular means of connection is not essential, and is chosen onlyfor illustration. rEhe Aupper portion of the casing is reduced indiameter and is provided with a gland 23. This gland holds in positionarubber plunger 24, which closely surrounds the branch 4. By means of thegland and rubber plunger a stuffing box is produced which absolutelyprevents the ingress of water or moisture into the plug.

The plug is held in position upon and within the standard 6, with thecontact plates 17 in engagement with the springs 13 by means whichpermit itsready removal; one means is a bayonet joint. This bayonetjoint is made by the pins or trunnions 25, on the standard 6, which pinsengage with L-shaped slots 26,. formed in a skirt 27 on the casing 22.This skirt 27 surroundsand incloses the upper reduced extremity of thestandard 6. The pins orgt'unnions 25 may be arranged one opposite to theother', as is shown in l1 ig. 4, in which-figure, one of the slots 26 isshownI in dotted lines. If it is necessary to "insure the introductionof the plug without reversing, as is necessary to preserye polarity inalternating currents or where used for battery charging or otherpurposes the trunnions may be arranged as in Fig. 9, Where they are notin line. VThe slots being properly formed to engage with thc trunnions,shown in Fig. 9, the plug must always be introduced in the same way sothat the connections cannot be accidentally reversed.

The body 16 of the plug Vis'introduced within the .hollow standard 6 andenters the center opening in the block 10. The introthe rest of theinsulation, enter the openings f i'i o duction of the plug pushesthevalve 5 from the position it normally occupies, closing the engage withthe ti'unnions, and when thel plug is completely lseated it is given apartial turn. A portion of the casing 22 may be milled, as shown, tolfacilitatethe turning of the plug. By` giving the plug the necessarypartial turn in theopposihe direction it may be drawn out, the valve 5following and automatically' seating to closethe openiiglg `in the;cover. lfl'iespring Sshould be of su cientv power not `only 'tol make aperfectly water tight joint-arounfdthe valve, but to throw the plugoutward and. make a quick break of the contactsprings 13 and the contactplates 17. i v

For-the purpose of preventing accidental rotation of the plug, the lowersurface of the branch of each of the slots 26, where it engages vwiththe trunnion, is curved as shown, so that av cam action may be producedand the tension of the spring 8 will tend to hold the plug againstrotation.

For the purpose of preventing leakage of water ormoisture while the plugis in place within the box, an elastic washer 28 may be provided betweenthe plug and the standard (i. This washer-is vbest placed where shown,

- lying within the skirt 27 and forced against -th/e upper edge of thestandardu by alange foi-medion the body 16.

A modified form of plug is shown in Figs. 10 and 11. In this vform ofplug the part analogous to the skirt 27 is Iin the form of a separatering 29, which may be rotated in depcndently of the rest of the plug.This ring is provided with internal screw threads,

as shown on Fig. 11, which engage withcorresponding threads .formed inthe reduced extremity of the standard 6. The

i. body 16 of the plug is introduced by a recti- 'linear movement," andwhen the plug is completely seated it is secured in position by theengagement of the threads on the ring 29 with the threads on-thestandard 6 by rotating the ring. To insure the proper en.

gagement of the contact springs 13 with the contact plates 17 the body16 is shown. as

provided with a longitudinal slot 30l which engages with a finger 31carried by the standard. The relative position of the slot and lingermay be'vreversed, as is obvious. This form of plug has the sameadvantage as the construction shown in Fig. 9, in that the contactsv1cannot be reversed.

The application of the invention to a floor box'is shown in Fig. 7. lnthat view the valve audits seating spring are not present but they maybe made `identically the same shape as Adescribed in connection with theother` embodiments of the invention. The. standard 6 at its upper edgeis ldepressed below the top of the cover 2 of the box so"that when theplug is removed a shallow recess will be formed. Within this 'recess maybe placed a cap 32, shown in Fig. 8, which will forma surface flush withthe floor. This cap may be attached to the box by a chain so that. itay. iiot'be misplaced. When in place'itv is adapted to rest upon-the,upper edge ofthe. standard 6. The cap may have a flange B3, which willextend down outside of the standard 6. Notches may be formed in theiiange so 'as tov fit over thetrunnions 25. The cap may be removed bydepressing one edge of the cap and raising the opposite edge so vthat itmay be grasped by the iingers. vIn this modification the trunnions 25are carried directly by the cover 2 and not by the standard 6. By meansof the cap the lbox inay be stepped upon 'without danger of openingthevalve 5, and a perfectly flush surface with the floor or deck will beproduced. .A cap may -be employed in connection with the other forms ofplug illustrated, as is evident.

ln the construction employing the bayonet connection between the plugand the box the contact plates 17 are sufliciently long to be inelectrical engagement with the springs 13 during the lateral or twistingmovement, which must necessarily be given to the plug to engage ordisengagethe trunnions 25 with the slot 26. The breaking of the contactis caused by the rectilinear movement of the lug. As already explained,the spring' 8 shoulda' be sufficiently powerful to rapidly tliro'vir theplug out of the box. The power of the spring had best be such that thisquick movement of the plug will'be lsecured in. spite of the fact thatthe plug is in the hands of the person making adJustment. f

In accordance witl the provisions ofthe patent statutes', .I haveldescribed the principle ofiiny invention, together Awith the apaparatnsvwhich -I now consider to represent thc best embodiment thereof, but Idesire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is merelyillustrative land that the invention can be carried out in other ways.

Having now described my invention, what l claim as new and desire'tosecure by Letters Patent, is- A 1.` `A Vbox having oppositely opposedspring contacts, a valve lying between said contacts an d'in engagementwith them when the valve isy closed, and a spring for closing the valve,in combination withl a plug, 'carrying contacts, the said plug being soformed that, when introduced into the box, it will thereby open thevalve, and Amake contact with the sprinG contacts, and when lthe plug isremove the sprin will close the valve which will separate an insulatethespring contacts. i

2. A box having oppositely opposed spring contacts of opposite polarity,avalve lying a recess, and a spring for closing the valve and extendinginto the recess, invcornbination With a plug, carrying contacts,

' rating the spring from the the said plug being so formed that, whenintroduced into the box, it will thereby open the valve,` and .when theplug is removed, the spring will close the valve, and separate thespring con- `tacts, the walls of the recess entirely sepafspringcontac'ts, and a hollowblock carrying the spring .cont-acts, suchcontacts being in sulated from the inner walls of the block,

1except at their free ends, where they 'come in Contact with vthe valvewhen the latter isin I closed position.

4. A terminal v.box having a valve and spring contacts, and a hollowblock carr ing the spring contacts in combination with are-l movableplug, carrying contacts the spring contactsbeing insulated from theinner'walls Jof the block, except at their free ends where they comeinto contact with the plug contacts when the plugis in positionWithinthe box.

, Av terminal box having a valve with a beveled lower end, and springcontacts, engaging-with the valve, said spring contacts, when the valveis closed, engaging with the beveled portion thereof and tending toclosethevalve.

. 6. The combination with a box, Vof a removable plug, the said plugcarrying a gasket which lies between it* and the box and cam means forclamping the plug and box together and compressing the gasket.

7. vThe combination with a box, which car- -ries a pin,of a plug and agasket, there being a cam the pin, and compresses the gasket between theplug and box.

8. rIfhecombinatien with a box, having a groove on the plug whichengages with pin, of a` plug, With a skirt, the said skirt hav-`- .ingan' L-shaped slot, the circumferential lirnb: of which has a curvedside, such side `'engaging with the pin When the plug is in engagementwith the box.

9. A box having a'hollow block with open- 'ingsthereixn Contact springssecured to the outsideof the block and extending through the openingsinto the interior of the block, in combination-With a removable nlugcarrying contact elements which engage with the springs when the pluglies Within the block.

10. A box having a hollow block, the said 'block having a longitudinalopening in the side, a spring secured to the outside of the block andextending through the opening, in combination with a removable plughaving a contact element which engages with the spring when the plug isin place, there being a valve within the lblock and a spring for closingthe valve, the said valve being opened by engagement with' the plug.

11. A box having a hollow block with longitudinal openings on the sidesthereof, 'the s aid openings extending through less than the totallength of the block. springs secured to the outside of the block andextending through such openings, each of said /openings having a closed.portion adjacent to the fixed ends of the springs, in combination with aValve, and a spring for closing the Valve, the said valve when openedlying bey-ond the free ends of the first mentioned springs, and adjacentto the closed portions of the block. l

' This specification signed and witnessed this 25th day of July, 1907.

\ DAVID ooNLAN, JR.

Witnesses LEONARD H. DYER,

JOHN L. LorscH.

